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Monday, September 13, 2010

Zucchini Gratin - Blue Monday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If ever you've wondered why I don't review restaurants, this snippet from my notes might help you understand. "The best part of lunch was the al fresco setting. That, unfortunately, wasn't edible. Neither was the food." I'm by nature easy to please and hate to find a recipe or restaurant wanting. I envy reviewers who can handle negatives in a less blunt fashion than my own. If you want to read wonderful restaurant reviews, I urge you to read those written by Jeroxie or the distaff side of Pig Pig's Corner. Good or bad, they deliver their opinions in a far more tactful manner than my own, but you still know where they are coming from and they speak truth to power. It's my hope that folks who stake their reputations on the contents of a plate, will learn that kitchen and staff must be supervised at all times. Reputations made at dinner can be lost at lunch and, with no dearth of restaurants, "eternal vigilance" just might pay next months rent. I'd name the restaurant at which I ate, but it will be gone within 6 months so there's no reason to cause ill-will in my small community. A bad lunch, however, means dinner must be PDG. To help ours along, I fell back on a wonderfully simple dish created by Patricia Wells. I can honestly say I've never had a bad experience with her recipes and she is one of my favorite food writers. The dish is a zucchini gratin and it is a wonderful accompaniment to plain grilled meat or poultry. It is easy to assemble, quick to cook and altogether delicious. I hope you'll try it. You're going to love the way it tastes. Here's the recipe.

Directions:1) Preheat broiler. Grease a 1-quart gratin dish. Set aside.2) Heat oil in a large skillet set over moderate heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add e garlic and zucchini, and brown for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until soft, about 8 minutes more.3) Transfer zucchini to prepared gratin dish. Drizzle light cream all over. Season with salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste. Sprinkle with cheese. Place under broiler and broil until the cheese is melted and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Yield: 4 servings.

Man, everyone is posting delicious looking zucchini recipes, but zucchini isn't in season here. There aren't any season here in Phuket! I miss seasons and the foods that come with them. Still... I may be able to find zucchini in the market here. I've been shocked by vegetables that randomly appeared there before, so I'll have a look. This looks wonderful!

Homegrown zucchini are one of life's joys! Thanx for the chance to try them another way. Bummer about the meal - it's always disappointing when a new place promises much and doesn't deliver. And tact? You've already shown it by not naming and shaming! Well Done!!

Love your post. We just returned from 1 week vacation. I try to find reviews on Trip Advisor to check our restaurants. Let's just say it all depends who and when it was written. We tried 2- 5 star places that served terrible meals. Always better at home I guess.Your gratin sounds really good.have a nice week.Rita

I love your writing style! And Patricia Wells is sure on of my favs. I made many of her recipes from the Provence cookbook. The zucchini looks great and I happen to have some in the fridge now - you have inspired me!

Mary, I have the same problem when reviewing an eating establishment. I'd rather critique my own. I do love having a solid reviewer in my city I can count on to deliver the goods to me, very important. Your gratin looks delicious, as always. Have a wonderful week.

You are wise, indeed, to avoid a subject with which you are uncomfortable....but you are right, the setting is lovely. I think you got your point across very well and very kindly too.

We recently had an interesting evening at a newer restaurant. I posted about some of the events while another lady who attended took a very different point of view from which to write. The differences were nearly as interesting as the evening itself.

My mom used to make zucchini casseroles way back in the day. The only way I've made them that Peter truly likes is to cut them into 1 1/2" rings, do the flour/egg/breadcrumb thing and saute them until browned and just hot throughout.

This looks so easy and good. And that restaraunt is so pretty, at least what I see from your picture. I usually think if a restaraunt put all that work into decor, the food will be good. Guess that's not always the case.

I have such misfortunate experiences from restaurants here in Athens and let me tell you I get very angry when this happens because I feel that the resaurant does not respect me as a person and as a client. I am sure that this gratin compensated you for the poor meal you had.

I'm so sorry you had a bad lunch...but you obviously recovered beautifully with this gratin. I would not be a very good reviewer either, so I've yet to give it a try. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this and your recipe!

For over a year, I have been the restaurant reviewer for our newspaper, and it has been an interesting experience---a very different kind of food writing.There are positive ways of delivering negative observations. I do believe that you would no trouble rising to the task!

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